National Geographic Bee Finalists Face Off Today

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National Geographic Bee Finalists Face Off Today

Students compete in this year's National Geographic Bee preliminary round.

Photograph by Rebecca Hale

Ten finalists emerged Tuesday during a "tough" preliminary round of the National Geographic Bee, which included seven tie breaker questions—an unusually high number, said "GeoBee" director Mary Lee Elden.

"They're top-notch students who are excited, and we can't wait to see what they can do on stage," Elden said.

The ten students will face off Wednesday during the final round of the Bee, being held at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C. (The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)

For the 2010 Bee, Elden and organizers asked students to post videos of themselves on an interactive YouTube map, a first for the National Geographic Bee. "They can be role models for other students—here are normal students who are doing great things with their knowledge of the world," Elden said.

National Geographic also announced a "GeoBee Challenge" mobile application for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, which will allow users to test their geography knowledge with questions from past National Geographic Bees. The application will be available in a few months, Elden said.

Smart and Curious a Winning Bee Combo

Jeopardy!TV host and Bee final-round moderator Alex Trebek said that such online resources are among the reasons that National Geographic Bee contestants seem to be getting smarter every year.

"Particularly the curiosity, because they now have the tools to satisfy their curiosity—[to] get on Google or the Internet to find out whatever you need to know very quickly." (Google is sponsoring the Bee for the second year in a row.)

Trebek added that he recently looked through old school papers and discovered geography was his best subject in high school. "I come by my interest legitimately if you will—I'm not a parvenu," he said.

This year a combined total of nearly five million fifth- to eighth-grade students vied for spots in the national championships during bees held in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific territories, and Department of Defense Dependents Schools.

The winner will get a U.S. $25,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society, and a trip to the Galápagos Islands. (See pictures of Galápagos animals.)

Trebek Sees "Adults in Small Bodies"

This is Trebek's 22nd year hosting the event, and—along with the "free airfare" from California, he quipped—it's his love of geography and working with kids that keep him coming back. The host noted that he doesn't condescend to the kids, treating them as "adults in small bodies."

"I don't think most people have a true understanding of what geography is," Trebek added. "They don't realize that it's part of our everyday lives—[even] driving to work is a geographic experience."